Sports
Convention
ends without
big changes
By Susie Arth
Senior Reporter
A gathering of university officials
from across the country met in Dallas
at the 87th NCAA convention last
week without rocking the boat of col
lege athletics, two UNL officials said.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Chancellor Graham Spanier said the
convention mainly involved minor
changes.
“Nothing passed this year that will
have a profound effect on us at Ne
braska,” he said. “Much of it was fine
tuning of earlier programs.”
Spanier said the most important
change was the group’s decision to
begin a process of certification for
athletic departments.
The new rule calls for universities
to do a self-evaluation of its athletic
department every five years to deter
mine how well it is fulfilling an
athlete’s needs both in the classroom
and in athletics.
The accreditation would go into
effect in 1994.
Following the self-evaluation, an
NCAA .team would review the
school’s findings.
UNL, he said, is already familiar
with the certification process because
it acted as a pilot institution in an
NCAA study conducted last year.
“The measure requires athletic pro
grams to go through the same kind of
institutional program reviews that we
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dcmic arena,” Spanicr said.
An additional issue at the conven
tion was gender equity, Spanicr said.
Although little of the legislation
dealt with gender equity specifically,
Spanicr said, the issue was repeatedly
debated at the convention.
The group, he said, found it diffi
cult to agree on the definition of gen
der equity.
Some officials argued that
women’s sports should receive 50
percent of athletic funds because 50
percent of students at universities are
females.
However, no women’s sport re
quires as many scholarships as a foot
ball program, he said.
“Some proposals just aren’t work
able in the current context of how we
operate,” he said. “We do support
more athletic opportunities for
women, but not at the expense of the
men’s teams.”
Al Papik, assistant athletic direc
tor for administrative services, said a
proposal to delay the reduction of
scholarships allotted for women’s
basketball was passed “under a guise
of gender equity.”
Papik said several other decisions
were handed down that dealt with
men’s basketball programs.
A proposal to delay a one-scholar
ship cut for men’s basketball pro
See NCAA on 8
Michelle Paulman/DN
Nebraska’s Matt Lindland wrestles in a meet earlier this season. The Cornhuskers will
host the National Dual Meet Championships starting Saturday at the NU Coliseum.
Weekend’s wrestling match
to be toss-up, coaches say
By Tim Pearson
Staff Reporter
Coaches whose wrestling teams
will participate in this weekend’s
National Dual Meet Champion
ships at the NU Coliseum rate the
tournament as a toss-up between
several teams.
“No one in the field slicks out
like a sore thumb,” Iowa coach Dan
Gable said. “It’ll be a very interest
ing tournament.”
Penn Slate coach John Frit/,
agreed.
There’s no clear-cut favorite in
the tournament, he said.
“It’s a real balanced field,” Frit/
said. “All the teams probably think
• Saturday-Sunday, NU Coliseum
Finals: 4 p.m. Sunday
•Top Ten Teams Participating:
Iowa, Penn State, Arizona State,
Iowa State, Nebraska, Northern
Iowa, Ohio State
they can win.”
“We’ll just have to shut up and
wrestle,” Frit/ said.
Seven of the top 11 teams in the
nation (Iowa, Penn State, Arizona
State, Iowa Stale, Nebraska, North
ern Iowa and Ohio State) will be in
the tournament.
Iowa, the two-time defending
national champion, is the favorite,
said Thom Ortiz, Iowa State assis
tant coach.
“Definitely Iowa’s the favorite,
but Penn State will be lough,” he
said. “And Ohio State has got all of
their guys back.”
Gable said the No. 1 ranking
would give most people the opin
ion that the Iowa Hawkeyes arc the
favorite.
See COACHES on 8
Nee calls
game with
Division I
team risky
By Jeff Singer
Senior Reporter
Playing a 1-16 team in the middle
of the season would seem like a gift to
most men’s basketball coaches.
But it’sone present Ncbraskacoach
Danny Nee would rather do without.
Sacramento State, a Division I in
dependent that has registered one win
all year, comes to the Bob Devaney
Sports Center at 7:05 p.m. to battle the
11-5 Comhuskers.
Nee said even though his team
would be playing the Hornets tonight,
he was not too happy about it.
“There’s no good place for a Sac
State to fit in,” Nee said. “It’s a game
! we have to play, and it’s a very dan
gerous game.”
Nee’s concern with Sacramento
; State comes after Georgia Tech was
upset last week 84-67 by College of
Charleston.
The Nebraska coach said he didn’t
want a repeat performance of what
! happened in Atlanta by another Divi
j sion 1 independent.
“I use Col lege of Charleston agai nst
Georgia Tech — I have nightmares
about it,” Nee said. “But with the
openings in the schedule, it’s a game
we have to play and we have to win.”
i nc Huskcrs arc noping to break a
iwo-gamc losing streak as well as to
register their 200th w in at the Dcvancy
Center. Nebraska is 8-0 at home so far
this season.
Nee said although the Hornets were
big underdogs heading into tonight’s
game, his team would play Sacra
mento State just like it would any
other opponent.
The game wi 11 a Iso serve as a tuncup
for upcoming Big Eight games against
Kansas and Colorado.
“We’re going to try to do the things
that we’re going to do on Saturday
and Monday,” he said. “Play through
the game, have practice through the
game and do the things we want to
work against K-Slalc and Colorado.”
Rebounding has been a concern
for the Huskcrs, as they have been
outrebounded 42.5 to 34 per game so
far in their Big Eight season.
Nee said it was important for Ne
braska to cure its recent rebounding
woes, and that a good place to start
would be against Sacramento State.
“Rebounding’s been kind of an
Achilles’ heel all the way out since
the early part of the season,” Nee said.
“I think the first thing is to make a real
emphasis on offensive rebounding—
send three or four guys to the board,
do a better job of boxing out.”
The Huskcrs should be able to
accomplish their rebounding goals
against the Hornets. Nebraska’s front
court (forwards Eric Piatkowski and
#
See HORNETS on 8
Conversation, clippers cut down Cornhuskers
As far as haircuts go, it was ter
rible.
As far as barbershop talk goes, it
was even worse.
And if you could see my hair un
derneath my big, bad ball cap, you’d
know how bad it was.
Let’s just say this barber was a real
eul-up. And I’m still bleeding.
Normally, though, I enjoy a little
sports talk with my hair chop. After
all, talking smack and barbers mix
just about as well as the red and white
stripes on the old pole outside.
Just give this guy the cut and some
pleasant conversation.
I could do without the comedy
routine.
Sure enough, though, I gol, it Satur
day.
The conversation started out inno
cently enough.
“So where do you go lo school?,”
the barber, who we’ll call Bob,asked.
“UNL,” I said.
Normally, that leads to the ques
tion “What arc you majoring in?” and
aelever comment like “I suppose you
minor in girls.”
We always gel a few kicks out of
that.
But this barber bu/zed a new direc
tion in barbershop talk.
“So you’re a Cornshuckcr,” Bob
said.
“Urn, yeah,” I said, hoping Bob
was just doing that tricky little switch
where you mix the letters and mess up
the pronunciation of your favorite
team’s nickname.
Thai’s always good for a few
giggles.
But Bob quickly got serious.
“I don U know why they couldn’t
Todd
Cooper
k_
come up with a belter nickname than
that. Someth ing that matehes the state.
“You know, something like the
Florida (Slate) Scminolcs’ or the
‘Miami Hurricanes.’ At least that
makes sense because Miami has hur
ricanes, you know.”
1 wanted to point out the Haw in
Bob’s argument.
I wanted to say, "You know, Bob,
Ididn’tsccany Scminolcs when I was
in Florida for this ycar’sOrangc Bowl.
“And besides, if you really think
about it, Bob, there’s bound to be
more Cornhuskers in Nebraska than
Scminolcs in Florida or hurricanes in
Miami.”
But then I remembered who held
the clippers.
I think it’s an unwritten rule of
barber shops: Either laugh at their
comedy clips or get cut.
I must not have laughed hard
enough.
Bob continued.
“But at least they didn’t call us the
prairie dogs or the prairie chickens or
something like that.”
Good point, Bob.
“Or it could’ve been the Nebraska
Grouse.”
Urn, excuse me? Come again?
Nebraska who?
Unfortunately , I didn’ t have to ask.
“The Nebraska Grouse,” Bob
beamed at his creative reference to, as
*
I later found out, a pheasant-like bird.
“That would really be terrible.”
Couldn’t be as bad as this conver
sation.
But Bob kept on joking and cul
ling, babbling and buzzing.
Don’t ask how, but our conversa
tion switched to I-back Derek Brown’s
decision to turn pro. Bob said he
didn’t blame Brown forquilting school
to dash for dollars.
For some reason, I had a feeling
that Bob might have done the same
thing a few years ago.
Besides, Bob bargained that Calvin
Jones would now run for 2,0(X) yards
each of the next two seasons.
I again wanted to pointout the flaw
in Bob’s argument.
I wanted to say, “But Bob, just last
See COOPER on 8